Warner, Rubio Float Bill to Combat Chinese Technology Theft, Threats

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill Friday that would create a White House office for coordinating interagency strategy to combat technology theft and supply chain threats from foreign adversaries like China. The Office of Critical Technologies & Security would coordinate with federal and state regulators, industry, experts and international partners, the lawmakers said. The bill would protect U.S. competitiveness in emerging and dual-use technologies, Warner said. “China continues to conduct a coordinated assault on U.S. intellectual property, U.S. businesses, and our government networks and information with the full backing of the Chinese Communist Party,” Rubio said. They cited Chinese telecom companies ZTE and Huawei as part of an overall threat on U.S. private sector supply chains.